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Death has a way of forcing us to consider questions we can often avoid at other times. We all know what it is to lose someone, or eventually we will, and in those moments the question of what comes afterwards becomes deeply personal. Christianity does not pretend that death is insignificant or that grief somehow disappears because we believe. Instead, Scripture offers something in the midst of that grief – hope. Jesus’ words in John 3:16 speak of eternal life through faith in Him, and that promise gives us reason to consider whether death truly is the end. For the believer, our hope rests not simply in wishing for something more, but in Jesus Christ and what He has promised.
That naturally brings us to the resurrection. The Bible itself records the accusation that Jesus’ disciples had stolen His body, with the guards being encouraged to spread that explanation after the tomb was found empty. But that raises another question. If the disciples themselves had fabricated the resurrection, why would they then continue proclaiming it when doing so brought persecution, imprisonment, beatings and suffering? People throughout history have certainly been willing to die for things they sincerely believed to be true. The question here is different: would these men willingly suffer for something they personally knew they had invented?
The Christian testimony is that the apostles were not merely repeating something they had heard from somebody else. They claimed to have known Jesus before His crucifixion and to have encountered Him alive afterwards. Scripture speaks of Him appearing to His followers over a period of forty days and of hundreds of witnesses to the risen Christ. The argument being considered here is not that suffering automatically proves someone’s beliefs are true. Rather, the willingness of the earliest witnesses to continue proclaiming what they said they had personally seen gives us something serious to think about. Their message was not simply, “We believe Jesus might have risen.” Their testimony was that He had risen, and they had seen Him alive.
There is one final thought that matters enormously when asking, “Why believe?” Please do not measure Jesus Christ by the failures of Christians. Christians are still people in need of grace. We fail, complain, argue, stumble and sometimes represent Christ very poorly. Philippians 2:14 calls believers to “do all things without complaining and disputing”, precisely because our lives ought to increasingly reflect the One we follow. But Christianity does not teach that salvation comes because Christians eventually become perfect. Our salvation rests in Christ’s perfection, not ours. So if you are considering Christianity, look beyond the failures of those who bear His name and look carefully at Jesus Himself – who He is, what He taught, what He did, and above all, what happened after the cross.
Watch or listen to Part 2 of Why Believe? And consider the evidence for yourself. If Jesus truly rose from the dead, then His claims deserve far more than a passing thought.
John 3:16 – God’s love, belief in Christ and everlasting life
Matthew 28:11-15 – The report that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body
Acts 1:3 – Jesus presenting Himself alive over forty days
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 – The risen Christ appearing to the apostles and more than five hundred witnesses
Philippians 2:14 – “Do all things without complaining and disputing”
Titus 2:13 – The believer’s “blessed hope”
